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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Toronto police have video of alleged assault with a belt as St. Michael’s investigation expands
An investigation into allegations of assault and sexual assault at St. Michael’s College School has expanded after police said today they have received videos of two more incidents they believe are related to the private all-boys’ school in Toronto.
Insp. Domenic Sinopoli, the head of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, said officers were trying to identify all the persons in the videos, one of which involved an assault with a weapon (a belt). He urged both victims and witnesses to come forward. The second incident was a threat.
Yesterday, six teenagers were arrested and charged with assault, gang sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon after video surfaced on social media of an alleged locker room attack. Police said then they believe there are more incidents and more videos and urged witnesses to come forward.
“But things are far worse for St. Mike’s than dealing with the fallout from a cohort of criminally charged ex-students,” lawyer David Butt writes. “Graduates are speaking out about a long-standing culture of bullying, flourishing under a code of silence, institutional neglect, and passive acquiescence by authority figures. The beast of St. Mike’s nightmare has many heads, all of them ugly.”
Denise Balkissoon’s take: “What the boys at St. Michael’s are learning is that the way to wield power is through cruelty – a message too many adults seem eager to share.”
Dow drops over 550 points, TSX 190 as global equity rout continues
World equity markets and oil prices tumbled today as worries over economic growth prospects prompted investors to retreat to safe-haven currencies and U.S. Treasuries.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index finished down 194.01 points, or 1.29 per cent, at 14,877.00.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 551.8 points, or 2.21 per cent, to 24,465.64, the S&P 500 lost 48.84 points, or 1.82 per cent, to 2,641.89 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 119.66 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 6,908.82.
Oil extended its losses after President Donald Trump said the United States intends to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia even though “it could very well be” that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had knowledge of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Auditor-General’s report: The taxman plays favourites and more
The federal Auditor-General Michael Ferguson released a report today that looked at, among other things, how the CRA treats Canadians differently, how Canada is coming up short in our international defence commitments and our military’s response to sexual assaults.
According to his audit, the treatment you get from the Canada Revenue Agency depends on where you live and how friendly your tax man is, which violates the agency’s “taxpayer bill of rights.” (for subscribers) Resolution times and response rates vary widely among the regional offices, and the CRA can’t really explain why.
The audit also found the Department of National Defence does not have enough fighter aircraft to meet its obligations under NORAD and NATO.
And three years after the Canadian Armed Forces announced a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault within its ranks, the Auditor-General says support for victims is fragmented and some members still do not feel safe in filing complaints.
After mistrial declared, Dennis Oland retrial by judge alone to begin tomorrow
After delays, a mistrial and dismissal of the jury, the retrial of Dennis Oland for the second-degree murder of his multimillionaire father will finally begin tomorrow by judge alone.
The mistrial was announced today by Justice Terrence Morrison, citing “improprieties” in jury selection involving an officer with the Saint John police force. Const. Sean Rocca accessed a police database to check on prospective and sworn jurors in violation of a 2012 directive from the Supreme Court of Canada concerning jury vetting.
It turns out the internal police database was also used during jury selection for the first Oland trial in 2015, when he was found guilty in the high-profile case (for subscribers). That conviction was overturned on appeal in 2016 and the new trial ordered.
Calls grow for second Brexit referendum as May’s strategy crumbles
Momentum is building across the United Kingdom for a second referendum on Brexit – something considered far-fetched until the government’s strategy fell apart this month, Paul Waldie writes.
Opinion polls over the past weeks show there’s growing support for another referendum, and a group called The People’s Vote has launched a national campaign backed by 70 full-time staff, thousands of volunteers and a donation of £1-million ($1.7-million) from a prominent businessman.
A main reason for the change of mood has been the growing opposition to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the European Union. Since she unveiled the withdrawal agreement last week, it has been roundly criticized and few MPs give it much chance of winning the required approval in the House of Commons.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Clerk of the B.C. Legislature, sergeant-at-arms suspended pending criminal investigation
The B.C. Legislature’s top two administrative officials have abruptly been placed on leave pending the results of a criminal investigation.
While government officials refused to say the nature of the investigation, Alan Mullen, special adviser to the Speaker of the House, told reporters a special prosecutor has been appointed to provide oversight into the investigation of Craig James, the clerk of the Legislature, and Gary Lenz, sergeant-at-arms. He said the investigation is related to their administrative duties.
TALKING POINTS
Francophobia is donning new populist clothes in Canada
“It is hard not to look at the fiscal arguments presented by the actual populist governments of Ontario and New Brunswick as mere smoke screens to hide a truth they won’t openly admit: Minority language protection does not deserve even minimal investment. Worse, when insisting on the idea that all Canadians must be a single and indivisible people, they imply that minorities do not deserve protection because their existence delegitimizes that project.” - Stéphanie Chouinard, assistant professor, Royal Military College, and Serge Miville, assistant professor, Laurentian University
A nasty surprise awaits some variable-rate mortgage holders on renewal
“What’s worse than a variable-rate mortgage that keeps getting more expensive as interest rates rise? The answer is a variable-rate mortgage where payments stay the same instead of rising to reflect higher borrowing costs. Static payments mean your lender is using more of your payment to cover your rising interest costs and applying less against principal.” - Rob Carrick (for subscribers)
Esi Edugyan’s Giller Prize win reflects a new taste for fabulism
“Washington Black has shown Esi Edugyan to be the most ambitious novelist in Canada, one who combines scope with technical chops. The grand historical narratives she spins – Nazi Germany in Half-Blood Blues, 19th-century slavery, trade and science in this one – are meticulously researched, perfectly plotted, real stories with high stakes, suspense, moments of gory violence, conclusive endings (the hardest thing for even the most imaginative of novelists to come up with). The horrific brutality she describes so directly is so ghastly that it is sometimes hard to read. Nor did I find that it has any pious good-for-you qualities, for her protagonist, though a good man, is no mere victim.” - Russell Smith
LIVING BETTER
Whether flying to visit relatives over the holidays or escaping on a vacation getaway, travellers this season can expect to face lineups, delays and lost luggage. The Globe’s survival guide can help you handle whatever comes your way, on the ground and in the air, so you can enjoy your trip (for subscribers). You can get through security faster by keeping presents unwrapped and having your electronics handy. If your flight is cancelled, skip the airport queue and call customer service instead, where an agent can talk you through all the options. Missed a connecting flight? If you have status with the airline or hold a higher-end travel credit card, you’ll have a reserved number to call in cases like this.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Delegating the unseen, endless list of emotional labour
Even though emotional labour can appear to be a million little, inconsequential tasks, it comes at considerable personal expense to women. Using their time disproportionately for the benefit of others, many get exhausted and grow resentful in their relationships.
The most troubling consequences are to women’s professional and intellectual lives. The writing of Christmas cards, check-in calls to relatives, scheduling of appointments and so on cost women “untold reservoirs of mental capacity that we could be using in ways that serve us, our careers, our lives and happiness,” Gemma Hartley writes in Fed Up.
If you’re a woman, Fed Up will likely infuriate, Zosia Bielski writes. Your attention may float away to the ridiculous requests your loved ones have saddled you with in the past week, month or year. What career goals did they achieve and what leisure time did they enjoy as you played personal assistant?
So far, women’s attempts to delegate their emotional labour have failed: Nagging for help in a “singsong” voice is work in and of itself. What we really need to look at here, Ms. Hartley writes, is men.
Read more from Elizabeth Renzetti: All in a day’s work: What we talk about when we talk about emotional labour
Creed II’s Michael B. Jordan brings his star power - and million-watt smile - to surprise at-risk kids in Toronto
A group of Toronto kids erupts in ear-piercing shrieks of excitement while focusing their surprised eyes on the famous movie star who appears from behind a curtain in their gym, Rachel Brady writes.
Michael B. Jordan is dressed in a black knit sweater, jeans and suede boots. It is a stark contrast from the muscular, bare-chested characters he has portrayed on-screen while blooming into one of the fastest-rising men in Hollywood.
The American actor is on a whirlwind stop in Toronto during a promotional tour for his new drama Creed II, in which he reprises the role of young boxer Adonis Creed. The 31-year-old stopped by to donate boxing equipment to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s Launch Pad, a sport-for-development facility catering to the city’s at-risk youth.
Jordan flashes his million-watt smile while fitting the eager kids into gloves and holding up pads so they can throw exuberant jabs at him. Minutes earlier, Toronto mascots Carlton the Bear and the Raptor had the kids enthralled with their antics, but now it’s MBJ who has them rapt.
Actor Michael B. Jordan attends the MLSE Launch Pad to surprise a group of youth with a donation of boxing equipment in Toronto, Thursday, November 15, 2018. (Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail)Galit Rodan
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